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Carry that weight
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By the time Montreal rock unit the Donkeys dissolved in 2006, after losing singer Eric Gaucher to a night-shift job, the band’s founding drummer and guitarist, Keith Marchand and Brad MacLean, were already drifting towards monumental, mid-tempo mega-tunes—“Things that might fall under neo-psychedelia, though I don’t like that term,” says Marchand. Along with remaining Donkey Dean Blaser, the pair rechristened themselves Lotusland and played a couple of shows, but they were still groping towards what’s now, minus Blaser but plus some interesting new cats, Mantle of Atlas. “Essentially, we started getting longwinded, having these Friday-night monster jams,” says MacLean. “We weren’t constrained by verse-chorus, verse-chorus,” adds Marchand, “and when that leaves, the music automatically becomes freer. We were never really a jam band, but definitely one that set markers and had enough confidence in ourselves that we could play around with movements and sections of songs.” If that sounds a bit Queen-y, fear not. The band name is less mythological than geological, hinting at the shifting tectonic plates of the sprawling compositions. “We’re not trying to create rock operas. You could call some of the sounds filmic, but only because they’re evocative. The songs are long but I’d be surprised if people were bored at any point. We’re not a band that uses repetition to get a point across. There are enough dynamics, I think, to keep things interesting. Laying different pieces together, if you’re really careful, it is, to the ear, a seamless process. You have continuity, and that’s the key to writing longer things.” Key to playing them, however, is the company of close compadres. Marchand and MacLean have lucked out in that respect. For starters, Olga Goreas of the Besnard Lakes has assumed bass duties. “Music was always important to us, but camaraderie was of somewhat more importance,” says MacLean. “Our jams would always start with an hour of sitting around drinking beers—we’d actually have to drag ourselves into practice sometimes. So getting a bassist who would be fun to be with, of the same mindset, was important.” Then there’s singer-and-so-much-more Mark Beauchamp—aka “Leathersnake,” apparently—who was already a known quantity. “We used to call him the Solid Donkey Dancer,” says Marchand. “He’d show up, sometimes with a mullet wig, and he’d be the guy you see in the front, getting the crowd going and getting us going too.” “He’s a freak-of-all-trades,” says MacLean of the dabbler in guitar, drums, percussion, Theremin, Vox Box etc. “For 20-minute songs, you need to layer the sounds a bit and throw in different elements, so obviously a one-man-band who can do it all was ideal.” Even so, keyboardist David Podgorski will contribute to the debut Mantle of Atlas show this Friday. “He has a masters in harpsichord,” says Marchand, “so he’ll be doing a harpsichord set between the two bands.” That’ll no doubt be delicately delightful. But for all the flash and filigree, MOA still offer a bounty of big-ass, bring-it-on-home riffage. “Over the years, coming up in so many serious indie bands—bands that were, how can I put it, not wanting to repeat things that had already been done, that was almost a statement of intent—we realized you can use the language of heavy rock and not necessarily make it sound like a heavy rock song. It’s more using that language because when we want to be heavy, doing that with your instruments moves the most air. There’s nothing wrong with playing your instruments hard now and then.” WITH TRUNG HOA AT IL MOTORE ON
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